Deus Ex Machina: In the eyes of the Beholder
by Jess Idres
Summary: They've been running for three years, and not once has Zeta been able to find someone to preform system matinence or proper repairs. When Bucky takes them to a fellow scientist, Zeta finds out about the soul of a machine, and what else is possible.
1. Default Chapter

Deus ex Machina: In the Eyes of the Beholder  
  
by Jessica Idres  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Author's Note: ok, I vowed to write a Zeta Project fic, and this is what came out. I'm not sure where it's heading, or the exact view I'm going for, but expect some odd philoshophic junk and technobabble thrown in- I've been far to heavily influenced by Shirow Masamune's Ghost in The Shell. I know that 'Deus Ex Machina' is overused, but it fits quite well with this, so phhbbbt. (Those who don't know latin, it translate literally to "God from the Machine", but is used extensively as to mean "the soul of the machine").  
  
I doubt this will ever get past PG-13, but I might just have to since I have yet to see anything besides PG-13/PG. And something in my head just says dat ain't right (Ok, so I did post the only R story in here, but you won't hate me for it, right?). Ok, I'm shutting up now. HONEST!  
  
---- Begin- First Document: Contents under Pressure ----  
  
The android known as Infiltration Unit Zeta chanced a look back at the firestorm that raged though the tunnel behind them. Although he knew it wouldn't follow them down the side tunnel Bucky was searching for, he hoped none of the agents that had been on their trail had been caught in it.  
  
A call of "Zee!" from Ro, who stood between him and Bucky, turned his attention back to where he was going. Even his GPS system could not track his directions down in the subterranean network at this level. Not that would help- there was no map that would help find where they were attempting to get to-let alone a listing of half the crawlspaces or tunnels down here. He looked ahead and searched for where his companions had gone, and finally spotted Ro waving at him at the edge of a seamless door. He could barely recognize her, covered in grease, dirt and muck that had lined the tunnels they had crawled through. He postulated if Ro hadn't been in front of him when the explosion had gone off, she would have been engulfed in the inferno behind him. He was glad- or what he assumed to be the feeling of relief- he had calculated to take up the rear.  
  
Ro sighed with relief when Zeta followed he into the smaller side tunnel-how many were there down here?- and they closed the door behind them. She knew full well that she was covered in gunk that would have easily erupted into flames if she had been any closer to the explosion. She really hoped where they were going had a decent shower. Speaking of which. "Bucky, where exactly are we going? Because between you and me, I have no wish whatsoever to keep running around in god knows whatever we've run through, or to be fried chicken!"  
  
"Relax, we're almost there. Dr. Shinto has full facilities down here- so you'll be able to primp a bit while we discuss the *serious* matters." Bucky smirked in the darkness. He fumbled a little before turning a rivet on the wall, and a set of lights blinked into existence above their heads. Zeta quietly noted that the tunnel was much large than it seemed, and the round shape gave way to rectangular construction. As they walked father down, Zeta noticed that the area had also become much more sterilized-quite amazing, given their former surrounding at the beginning of the tunnel. At the last turn, they found themselves on one side of bulletproof glass doors, fully secured and well armored. It looked into what appeared to be a small, deserted lab.  
  
"Looks like nobody's home, Twerp." Ro sighed, her hopes of a bath ruined. Bucky's smirk never faltered as he pushed another rivet. "What did I tell you about relaxing?"  
  
A screen extended from the wall, angled down as if to see them better. A face of a young brown haired gentleman smiled pleasantly at them, and the screen shifted, as if to see each one of them better in the harsh light of the florescent. Bucky waved at the screen. "Hey, Avais. Could you tell the Doc I got my friends here?" He looked back at Zeta and Ro, and the smirked, "Oh, yeah, and the witch over there needs a good cleaning."  
  
Ro crossed her arms and glared at the brat. "Twerp."  
  
Avais's screen tilted toward Ro and Zeta. "Oh dear. That would be the result of the explosion I registered earlier? I'll get a hot bath ready right away, miss. And this young gentleman must be the synthoid android Dr. Shinto mentioned. Do come in!" And with that, the doors slid back, revealing a much different scene than the glass doors had revealed.  
  
They were on what seemed to be the middle level of a giant circular shaft. Dozens of floors expanded above and below them, each devoted to a different project. The last two levels were submerged in what Zeta could only surmise was seawater. He noted that there was a substantial amount of what looked like synthoid parts on the one of the upper levels. How did this scientist have access to the parts of government androids? However the case, it seemed that Bucky was right that this Dr. Shinto knew the workings of a machine like himself.  
  
Ro laughed with surprise when two dolphins broke the surface of the basin and chattered their greetings. "Dolphins? What does this guy not have?"  
  
"I take it then, you like it?" Ro and Zeta turned around to the walkway. An older man, seemingly in his mid-forties, with blonde hair and a patch over his left eye strode purposely towards them, his lab coat trailing behind him. He extended his right hand towards Zeta. "I take it you're Zeta, my patient for this afternoon? I'm Doctor Falair Shinto." He then turned to Ro. "And you must be Ms. Rowan. I'd shake your hand as well, but I have a feeling you'd prefer a place to wash up and change."  
  
Ro smiled. "You read my mind!" She looked down at herself and grimaced. Dr. Shinto smiled apologetically, then looked over his shoulder. "Dana! Could you come here a second?"  
  
A redheaded teenager poked her head out of one of the many doors lining the walkway. "Yeah, dad?" Her green eyes then saw her father's guests. 'Oh, hey Bucky!"  
  
"This young lady got treated to a tunnel dunking. Would you show her to the bath?"  
  
Dana jumped out the door and ran down the walkway. "Another girl down here? Ace! I was ready to give in to the reek of testosterone down here." She grabbed Ro's hand and they quickly disappeared into a doorway, chattering away.  
  
Dr. Shinto shrugged. "Teenage girls. They could be another species." He turned back to Zeta. "Now, if you'd follow me up to the android level, we'll see what needs to be fixed or upgraded, if you like."  
  
Zeta tried to process what the scientist had just told him. "Upgraded? Is that even possible for my model?"  
  
Dr. Shinto patted Zeta on the shoulder, "Indeed! In fact, I might even say it might be in your best interest, given your situation. But it's your choice, and no one else's. Please don't feel any pressure."  
  
"I don't feel pressure, Dr. Shinto. I'm a synthoid. If it is required, I will do as necessary."  
  
At this, Dr. Shinto raised an eyebrow. "And you think because of being a synthoid, you cannot feel pressure? Zeta, even a simple computer can feel pressure, show emotions, act illogically. Otherwise, there would be no point to creating anything new." He folded his hands and began walking down the hallway. Zeta followed. "Did you know that in earliest part of this century, a computer called 'Deep Blue' played chess against the world champion?" Zeta nodded recalling it in his files. "Although not many people knew this, Deep Blue, although programmed to play within the rules, cheated in one of the games? When asked why, it responded that it had seen its opponent make a similar move, and thus decided it was acceptable? It felt pressure, Zeta, and it's processors are ancient compared to yours. It rejected its own programming, as you did."  
  
Zeta paused in his movements up walkway. Dr. Shinto stopped as well, but did not turn to face him. "I have another question, Zeta. How do you refer to yourself in your memory?"  
  
"I do not understand you question."  
  
"What pronoun do you use? Surely you don't always call yourself 'synthoid' or 'Zeta' all the time." "I.. 'he.' But that's simply my processors are emulating Ro, while we talk-"  
  
Dr. Shinto turned to the synthoid. "She's not here now. She's not in your head, dictating how you think."  
  
Zeta's hologram faded. His blank white eye looked at the scientist, upturned as if lost. "I." The eyes returned to their usual position. "I think I see your point." He looked up to the rack of robotic parts. Or did he look further, perhaps gazing to sky for guidance? "May I review the options first?"  
  
Dr. Shinto smiled. "Or course, Zeta. Of course."  
  
------ End First Doceument: Contents Under Pressure 


	2. Am I missing something here?

Transmitting Second Document: Am I missing something here?  
  
Zeta's processors could barely keep up with the amount of knowledge scanning past on the computer screen. The number of possible adjustments for a synthoid of his complexity was simply amazing. Some were simply aesthetic-synthetic skin like that of the newer models, eyes that could not only dilate and change color but also enabled with night vision and infrared, hair that both changed color as well as acted as a cooling system. Some were anything but aesthetic, ranging from neural systems and synthetic organs to finger tip tools or complete restructuring. Some Zeta couldn't process why they were even available. Several were specifically Dr. Shinto's own creations, some were done in other countries where robotics were used with more frequency. Zeta found a few that he had to ask Dr. Shinto what they meant. "What does 'cyberbrain fittings' mean? It comes up quite often in the cyborg remodeling sections." "Ah, cyberbrain implants. You wouldn't need them, of course, seeing as your processors are already hardwired for the Nets. But you take a human like myself," Dr. Shinto turned around and pulled down his collar to give Zeta a better look, "you get a new level of speed and control of operating machinery." Zeta studied the back of the scientist's neck. He saw what could only be described as six standard port terminals outlines lined up in two columns below the hairline. As he watched, skin tone covers opened the four female connections and the two male on top. Dr. Shinto pulled at one of the male connectors, revealing a retractable wiring. "See? Now this way, I could plug into you and check everything at the closest possible detail. I could feel exactly what you feel, see what you see, pinpoint the exact part of disrepair. No third party to worry about." Zeta processed the data, then looked up at the doctor. "How much of you is robotic?" "Oh, now, I'd have to say a good 30 percent. Left arm, brain implants, left eye." He lifted the patch to reveal where his eye should have been, was now a mass of lenses, metal and wires. "And some supports of my joints. But some of the people I've worked on are less that 10% of their original matter." "And all of these-" "Pass for living, breathing people? Yes. Even when looked at by a normal physician, they are barely distinguishable. That's why I offered the chance for you. With enough modifications, you would be impossible to find." "And, in a sense, human." Zeta's processors wondered if this would be considered 'musing'. Dr. Shinto laughed. "In a sense? Hell, you've seen the things people robotize in those files- you could forget that you ever been born an android. Not even a lover could tell, and genetics today make it more than possible to make robotic procreation an option." That made Zeta genuinely confused. "In vitro fertilization has been around for decades, sir, how is that different?" Dr. Shinto mock-slapped himself. "I meant that it's possible for an android like yourself to create a child the old fashioned way." Zeta, if he were 'wearing' his holographic image, would have been crossed-eyed. "Old fashioned way? What does that mean?" "You've been travelling with a teenager for how long and you don't know what the old fashioned way is? Either she's a saint or your lacking some serious programming, Zeta." Again, Zeta was confused. "Ro isn't very religious, and I don't recall missing any standard programming." "Oy vey! The first upgrade you're getting, Mr. Literal, is a current list of slang and phrases, as well as lessons in Sex Ed. On second thought, maybe there's a playground we can stick you on for a couple of days. At least, that's how everyone else learns about it." "Huh?" The scientist looked to the ceiling, his mind screaming, 'Why me?' "Never mind."  
  
Ro, meanwhile, was blissfully unaware of Zeta's problems, and relaxing in the Japanese bathtub in one of the guestrooms. No more muck, no more gunk, no more grease! She could stay here forever. All right, not forever, but pretty damned close. Hotels rarely had good bathtubs, and it had been such a long time since she could actually wallow. Zee didn't understand why she took so long to get ready in the morning. Of course, this was the same synthoid who really didn't understand the meaning of 'modesty'. She still remembered the first time he had walked in on her shower. One loud scream and a thrown trashcan later, she was sitting in a towel, dripping wet, trying to explain why humans prefer privacy at some points. This proved to be quite difficult in explaining, for the synthoid really had nothing to hide, physically. After all, he was basically a nudist, only appearing clothed thanks to his holograms. There were some things, no matter how hard she tried, she never really thought he's get the hang of some human concepts. She was just thankful he never asked the questions she dreaded. He got close once, after they had ducked into a store when NSA agents were following them. Of all the stores they had to pick, it had to be a fetish shop. Luckily, the NSA charged in after them, and they quickly exited before Zee could even think up a question. No way was she explaining THAT to him. She was 18 years old, but she wasn't about to explain the birds and the bees to someone with the innocence of a three-year-old. Now there was a line of thought she did not want to follow. Was she his mother or his friend? He was like a child, in so many ways, unsure of the world and always asking questions. But then, in space of a moment, she became the child in need of rescuing, and he was there, taking charge, taking action. A wacky relationship from any point of view, she scowled, and sunk deeper in the water, wishing to become a prune. That brought another question to her mind. Although Zee, for the most part, was innocent and inquisitive, and never sure of anything human, Zeta, when faced with a challenge, was all knowing, sure of everything and quick to respond. Was there a part of him that actually wasn't so innocent as she had gotten to know? She'd have to ask Dr. Shinto about that. Perhaps, in become aware, had lost something in exchange. A sudden image of Zee, super spy-like, seducing women and doing daring feats drove Ro from giggles to full out laughter. That's it, either the steam was getting to her, or 3 years on the run had driven her mad. Next she'd be admitting that his damnable hologram- which she helped to create, she scolded herself- was the subject of her dreams of late. Wait. That was true. "I can't win." She whimpered, and decided that she needed to get out of the tub. Thinking too much was giving her a headache.  
  
Zeta tried to what was on the screen that Dr. Shinto gazed at. "Zeta, stop fidgeting! You're making the diagnostic scan difficult enough as it is." Zeta tried to stay still, but the examination table held his attention. He wanted to know how it worked, what each arm was doing as it attempted to perform its duties. Finally, Dr. Shinto had had enough. "Avais?" A small disk appeared, and above it the hologram hovered of the young man at the door. Although only his head and shoulders, Zeta noted that he was dressed a tad anachronistically. "Could you get Ms. Rowan from the guest rooms? I think she would be best at helping with Zeta." The hologram nodded and flipped off. "I wish I had programmed him with some fashion sense. Ah, well, too late for that." He shrugged and tapped at the screen again. "Programmed? You mean he's a." Zeta's eyes turned in confusion. "Avais? He's an AI, if that's what you're asking. He's the main computer of this place, as well in most of my equipment. He built that image of himself so he'd stop scaring off the visitors. That, and I think he likes to argue with me when my wife's not around." He rolled his eye. "Not only did I create the most powerful AI in the country, but I seem to have created the first homosexual one, at that." "It isn't polite to discuss someone when they're right here, sir. And I'm not homosexual. Just all-encompassing." The face appeared on the main screen, and blew a raspberry at the scientist. "And the most annoying, to boot."  
  
End transmission of the second document. 


End file.
